As the veil of winter lifts and the sounds of urban spring slowly re-emerge– birds chirping, street cleaners whizzing, and newly amplified street sounds buzzing thanks to open windows– it may seem like an odd time for long-awaited new material from a Boston favorite, The December Sound, to reveal itself. And it’s unclear as to whether the two tracks of Real Reign are a harbinger of a full-length yet to come, which would be the band’s first since 2007’s much-loved The Silver Album, or just a single unleashed unto the ether. Yet Real Reign is something to be grateful for, nonetheless.
The December Sound, were it to be defined, is somewhere in the crossroads of drone, psych, shoegaze, and electronica. Immaculately orchestrated but breathtakingly emotive, the two songs of Real Reign are, seemingly, opposites. “Speak From Tomorrow” is a bleak warning call from a (not-too-distant?) future, while “Just Let Go” is a warm and richly layered sonic dreamscape. But a palpable anxiety permeates both songs, as if “Speak From Tomorrow” is an omen and “Just Let Go” is coming to grips with an unfortunate fate.
Stream Real Reign below via Bandcamp. (Yep, that’s an old elevated orange line train on the cover.) With any luck, maybe we’ll get to hear this live sometime soon.